[Chron] Point guard no longer draft or free agent priority for Rockets

I hope they resign Mutombo. He has been such a key asset to this team along w/ Sura and James.

They should definitely buyout Moochie, Baker, Spoon, and Ward. Just wasted bench space that we can use for Badine, Spanoulis, our #1, and for some other quality FAs.

 

we kind of need a pure 3,am I right or what?

 

Have you checked out the ages of our point guards? If that greek dude doesn't pan out we'll need to address point guard in the off season. Sura and Wesley are on the wrong side of 30, that only leaves James.

 

we kind of need a pure 3,am I right or what?


No I thick TMac is our 3...he's played alot better ther since moving from 2

 

I think they will try to trade Moochie and Spoon's last year contract for some team need cap space in the future, and they will buyout Ward since his contract is relatively small.

We defintely need some young blood in the team.

 

JVG has wanted to move TMac from the 2 to the 3 and finally got a chance to do so. I'm guessing he's there to stay. JVG seems like the coach that couldn't give a rat's ass about "pure ______" position players. He seems to like interchangeable parts that can assume roles as needed much more.

 

An athletic 3, does that sound like Nachbar?

 

no

 

i actually agree with thie writer. we are set @ PG. a major issue this summer will be re-signing barry and deke who have given us one of the best benches in the league.

in the draft we will definitely be looking to add a PF, if none we like are available then an athletic 3 will do. that will also help rest tmac more than 6 minutes a game.

baker, spoon, moochie, and ward may not be traded or baught out this summer IMO. ending contracts have a lot of value close to the deadline. i think we will hand on to them (barring any good offers) until then. also, wesleys contract is ending after next season too. so i guess he should be on that list aswel.

i would hope that bowen and padgett get a spot next year too.

 

Shareef Abdur Rahim.. .although he's not athletic.. but he does everything better than Juwan Howard...

 

Here is some more info on Spanoulis from Greek journalist Dimitris Ritsonis. There's no link, he emailed it to me today:

1) Spanoulis is one of the best players in A1 and ULEB Cup. He is a star in
A1, his team is gonna finish 2nd (there are some slight possibilities of
finishing first, but this won't happen) after Panathinaikos in the regular
season of A1. In the ULEB Cup, his team is in the top-8 and on Tueday
they'll play an important game vs Makedonikos, which will be the one to
decide which team will make it to the final 4 teams.
2) Spanoulis in better offensively than last season. In A1 he averages 29.3
mpg, 15.9 ppg (6th in A1), 3.5 apg, 1.0 spg, shoots by 46% from the field, 45% from the three point, 77% from the free throw line.
In ULEB Cup, he averages 25.8 mpg, 14.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 3.8 apg, 0.8 spg.
3) He has received an invitation for this year's Houston's Summer Camp.
According to rumours, he has already agreed to play next season, but he is gonna ask for guaranteed playing time. So, if he can give Bobby Sura some rest it is gonna be good for all.
4) He'll probably be invited in the NT again for the Eurobasket, but
nothing is guaranteed yet.


If TMac is considered our starting 3 now, and Sura and James are under contract for next year, then we have to decide what to do about Barry, Wesley and Spanoulis. It seems like there's only room for 2 of those 3. It might be better to leave him over there for another year, but it looks like he might be ready.

 

His apg is too low for a point guard. BTW, who the hell is he asking for guarenteed playing time? Yao Ming, our first overall pick who is the first foreign ever to be drafted #1, didn't ask for guarenteed playing time. He earned it. Nachbar, our first round draft pick, didn't earn playing time and now playing somewhere else. And now, there is this second rounder asking for guarenteed playing time?

 

They count assists somewhat differently in most european leagues than in the nba.. Here are the current assist leaders in greek A1 league according to www.eurobasket.com. (I guess spanoulis' average has dipped some...)

1.Mulaomer.PAOK 5.73

2.Zisis , AEK 4.4

3.Kekelis MENT 4.35

4.Kamberidis MENT 4.1

5.Collins , Aris 3.56

6.Bennerman,Olym. 3.3

7.Diamantidis PAO 2.86

 

Sura is only 31.

 

Sura is as injury-prone as any 37-year old.

 

This writer seems pretty high on Hakim Warrick. I do agree that Warrick will be a good pro, however I don't necessarily agree he is an NBA power forward. With his length and athleticism, he kind of reminds me of a combination of Tayshaun Prince/Darius Miles. For most of his college career he has basically been strictly a PF but now it seems Boeheim is finally beginning to take advantage of his ability to play both forward positions and is letting him explore his mid-range game.

He's an interesting pro prospect, to say the least. Do we have a chance at drafting him? Probably not, I doubt he falls into the 20's. But if he's there, take him.

 

So is Jason Kidd. As long as you're effective when you're healthy then everything is cool.

 

Sura's injuries have nothing to do with his age.They are a result of his game.

 

Van Gundy likes players who can play multiple positions and right now Padgett and Bowen are the only Rox who can swing between SF and PF. Both have strengths but athleticism is not among them.

I like Warwick and you don't have to look any further than Jameer Nelson for a precedence. Nelson was a Lottery pick on most mock drafts only to fall because of heigth concerns. I'm not holding my breath, but Warwick dropping within our reach is surely possible. And he's definitely a good fit. IIRC, Warwick's wing span is unusually large for a player of his heigth.